Identification Processes
Exploring the link between identification processes and the emotional and developmental well-being of mixed heritage children and youth
How do children and youth of mixed parentage identify themselves in cultural and/or racial terms? How are they in turn identified by others? What is the impact of these identification processes on their development and psychosocial well-being?
Increasingly children and youth in pluralistic societies must negotiate mixed identities as a result of the culturally or racially diverse backgrounds of their parents. Negotiating available alternatives presents a particular challenge to immigrant/refugee children and native-born mixed heritage youth, who often find themselves facing competing, sometimes mutually exclusive, social identifications.
Dr. Anneke Rummens’ Who ARE I? project investigates the determinants of identity formation among culturally and/or mixed heritage youth, explores differential strategies of identity negotiation among them across time and space, and examines the ways in which relative choice of identity affects individual mental health and well-being.
In so doing, this research links social identification processes with psychological self-identity issues relating to self-concept and well-being. Its goal is to explain differences in choice of self-identifications across culturally and/or racially mixed youth, to identify key protective mental health factors for children of mixed heritage, and to determine relevant policy implications.
For more information, please contact Dr. Anneke Rummens 416-813-7645 x1986